ATLANTA (Ticker) -- Toni Kukoc had 23 points and 11 assists and
Nazr Mohammed added 16 points and 15 rebounds as the Atlanta
Hawks cruised to a 99-88 victory over the Denver Nuggets.

Kukoc made 10-of-15 shots and Mohammed 7-of-12 as the Hawks
recorded their 11th straight home win over the Nuggets. Denver
has not won in Atlanta since December 10, 1988, when the Hawks
played at the Omni.

"Toni makes a difference when he's on the floor," Atlanta coach
Lon Kruger said. "He finds people, he moves the ball and he
obviously makes the big shots. Those guys really feed off
that."

Ten players saw at least 17 minutes of action for Atlanta, which
held a 51-44 advantage on the boards. Lorenzen Wright scored 11
points off the bench and Jason Terry added 10 as the Hawks won
just their fifth home game since the All-Star break.

"We were out there shooting the shots and trying to put the
dagger in everybody," Wright said.

Kevin Willis had 21 points and 10 rebounds against his former
team and Nick Van Exel scored 19 points for Denver, which
concluded a 2-4 road trip and fell to 10-28 away from home.

"He left here with a loss," Wright said, referring to Willis. "I
don't care if he gets a 100 points as long as they lose."

The Hawks shot 48 percent (48-of-91) while holding the Nuggets
to 42 percent (38-of-90) in a battle of teams that will miss the
playoffs.

Antonio McDyess, who averages 21 points and 12 rebounds a game,
had just 12 and five after aggravating a knee injury on Friday
in Charlotte. He left with just under five minutes to play.

"I don't want to blame being tired," Denver coach Dan Issel
said. "But when you're that shorthanded and have to play
back-to-back, I think it starts to take its toll."

James Posey also sat out late and will be examined by team
doctors. That left the Nuggets with just eight players.

"We sure don't need that right now," Issel said. "The last
three weeks, we've had more than our share of injuries. Most of
the season we didn't have any, but it's been piling up here."

Van Exel was coming off a season-high 41 points against the
Hornets, his first game back from injury.

"This has been the story all season long on the road," he said.
"We haven't found an answer all season long. That's why we're
in the position we're in.

"When things don't go well, you always try to find reasons and
excuses instead of just trying to get the job done. I don't
understand why Voshon Lenard doesn't play tonight. I thought we
got him to come in and shoot threes. Lately, he hasn't been
playing much."

Posey scored 16 points, but Denver gave up 21 points on 15
turnovers.

After trading baskets in the opening quarter, Atlanta took a
53-48 lead into the break.

Denver cut the deficit to 88-83 with less than four minutes to
play on a 3-pointer by Van Exel. But Kukoc answered and scored
nine points in the final period as the Hawks pulled away.